Miles to Go
by SplishySplash
Summary: What if Mako found Korra before Tenzin did in episode 4?
1. Chapter 1

Title: And Miles to Go

Author: SplishySplash

Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort

Pairing: Korra/Mako

Rating: This chapter is K, but this will be an M fic later

Disclaimer: I own noting.

Summary: Mako was the one to find her on Avatar Aang Island, not Tenzin.

He hoped he got there in time.

Mako ran up the infinite stairs on Avatar Aang Island looking for her. In his distraction with Asami, she challenged the leader of the Equalist Revolution. Fear sunk in as the silence mocked him, only the blood flowing through his ears and quickened paces.

He couldn't believe that she was stupid enough to do this. He hadn't been watching her like he should have, Korra had saved his brother and he had let her down. As Mako got to the top of the stairs he saw her crumpled up on the floor and for a brief moment his heart stopped beating.

He was responsible for this, the death of the Avatar, or worse the bending-less Avatar. Mako sprinted over to her. "Korra!" He yelled, hoping to wake her as he placed a hand on her warm skin. She was still alive. "Korra, wake up please!"

Her eyes fluttered open, lacking the normal spark and he feared the worst. "M-Mako?" She whispered, struggling to focus on him.

"I'm right here, Korra." He said and her eyes fluttered close. "Stay with me."

Korra took in her surroundings. She seemed dazed and confused. Had it really happened? He helped her sit up and she swayed a little so he tightened his grip on her. "Your bending?" He asked carefully.

Lazily she held her hand out and bended a small fire. "No, I'm okay." With a sigh, he pulled her into his arms and the tears fell freely against his neck. "I was so scared." It was a whisper, soft against his neck.

"It's okay, I've got you." He whispered soothingly as she trembled against him. He buried his face into her hair and vowed that he would kill Amon himself for turning her from a strong willed woman to a fearful child. "You're safe."

Footsteps could be heard entering the temple and she trembled against him as he held her tightly, protecting her with his body in case Amon and his chi blockers came back to finish the job. For their sakes, somebody was listening to his silent pleas, it was Tenzin, Tarrlock and the White Lotus. "Korra!" The master Airbender called out.

He looked at Mako for any indication that Amon had used his power against her. The young man shook his head and ran his fingers through her hair. She was quiet now, still crying into his neck. The Airbender gave a small sigh of relief and he knew that the fight didn't fare well, he could see the bruises on her skin where the chi blockers had got to her.

"What happened Korra?" Tarrlock asked with interest, rudely interrupting the silence.

Before Tenzin could say anything Mako glared up at him. "Not now." He growled.

Tarrlock glared back and placed a hand on his hip defensively. "Well we need to get word out to the press before morning. . ."

Mako shook his head. "She is not going to say anything, you rushed her into this and now look."

Tenzin had barely met the younger man, but he liked him. "I knew this wasn't a good idea, she needs to finish her Avatar training . . . "Tenzin added gruffly. "And at that point she will be ready to take on Amon if she has too."

"He's taking peoples bending away while she is wasting her time, what kind of Avatar is she anyway? Avatar Aang was a fully recognized Avatar by age thirteen. . ." barked Tarrlock as he began to stomp around the room.

She tensed in his arms and began to cry harder. She was a failure, to herself and to the world. She would never been Avatar Aang. She would never learn Airbending . "She was still young, Tarrlock." Tenzin roared protectively.

Mako wanted to punch the guy in the face. He was the reason she was feeling broken and crying in his arms. He turned his attention to her and whispered soothing words in her ear. He pulled back a little and her gaze went to the floor. "Look at me Korra." He said softly and like her normal self, she disobeyed. Softly he guided her chin to look at him, she flinched before pushing him away. Amon had done the same thing.

With a burst of strength she pushed back from him and scuttled backwards. He looked surprised as did everybody else. Mako scooted over to her and she couldn't go anywhere, she was trapped.

Her breathing grew heavy and the room stared to spin. The familiar faces turned into the Equalists and the metal benders. She struggled to get to her feet and stood defensively as they closed in on her, she bended the ground around her and a couple of them fell over, but in the blink of an eye her arms were pinned to her sides.

"Korra! It's Mako." He shouted, trying to bring her out of his hallucination. His hand cupped the side of her face and begs her to recognize him.

The masked man cupped her face. "I'm saving you for last. . ." it echoed through the room. "Then you will get your duel and I will destroy you."

She shook her head, her hair covering her face. "No, no, no!" She cried and struggled against his grip. With a well-placed hit of his hand into her neck she went unconscious.

"Korra, come on." He pleaded. Her breathing swallowed and her eyes rolled back into her head, her legs gave out and she collapsed. Mako caught her before she hit the ground, pressing his ear to her chest to make sure she was still breathing. "Korra?" He shook her gently, his voice breaking into a panic.

A hand went to his shoulder. "Let's get her home." Tenzin offered and gained a nod from the younger man as he scooped her up to cradle her to his chest. As they walked out of the temple, Tenzin glared at Tarrlock and stopped for a moment. "You will not see her without talking to me first."

The other man yelled after them as they walked down the stairs to the boat and the morning sun started to rise. Silently the two men sat in silence as one island disappeared from view and the safety of another one appeared into view.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Miles to GO

Author: SplishySplash

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Pairing: MaKorra

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I own everything and anything… any other stories written under this fandom will be read and fate decided in a case by case manner….

Summary: She had failed the people of Republic City.

He followed the older man through the quiet halls of the air temple. The morning sun peaked its head above the horizon, but nobody stirred. Korra hadn't stirred either during their boat ride away from the dangers that she had faced. The only sounds she made were small whimpers escaping her lips that broke the morning silence.

They entered her room and instantly Naga started to whine excitedly, but she sensed the state of her owner and so she backed up to allow the younger man to enter her bedroom. Gently he laid her on the sheets and robotically removed her boots before covering her with the thin sheet.

The Airbending master watched him intently as he brushed some hair off of her face. "She will be safe here." Tenzin said slowly, but the younger man didn't move and he wasn't going to force him to leave. "But if you would like to stay, you are more than welcome."

"Thank you." He said shortly, his voice was hoarse. Tenzin left, shutting the door behind him and leaving Mako to watch over her.

He sat down on the floor with his back against the wall, stretching his tired limbs out. His muscles were tense and achy from stress and he knew that he needed to make a game plan so that this didn't happen in the future.

Mako watched as she slept, hoping that her dreams were silent.

They weren't.

She turned her head and scrunched up her face as she saw Amon again. She watched as he took away the bending from people she had not met before. Korra tried to get to them, tried to bend the bad guys away but nothing was effective.

Running seemed useless because it was as if she was in a glass box. Everything was happening on the outside and she couldn't find a way to help these people. A loud scream made her turn around and she gasped, Amon had Jinora pinned to a wall as a bright light escaped his fingers and Korra closed her eyes, screaming out her name.

Her attempts were futile, some of the chi benders had made it into her box and was holding her down, making her watch as the rest of the Airbending children lost their ability, as well as their father. She roared as she fought the grasps of the masked men. Bolin and Mako were standing next to each other both held back by chains.

Bolin looked at her with tears streaming down his face. "NO! Stop please." She cried as Amon tortured his abilities out of him. Amon turned to look at her as Mako was next.

"Pretty boy's next." He said almost lightly, he enjoyed watching her suffer.

She shook her head. "Please, I will do anything." She cried as Mako silently pleaded with her.

"KORRA!" He called out, but was silenced with a blow to his face. She struggled against her captors, who dug their finger nails into her skin.

"Mako! Please!" She growled and she bended the rock to drag them away, but they multiplied and more of them held her down.

Amon slowly analyzed the young man and silently gauged her reactions as he grabbed him by the chin forcing him to look at him. In the blink of an eye, the Equalist leader changed his mind and instead of taking his bending away, he snapped his neck. Mako fell limp, only supported by the chains that held up his arms.

Korra screamed and struggled to break free.

"KORRA!" Someone called her name, but she didn't care. "KORRA PLEASE, WAKE UP." She recognized the voice and tried to find it.

That is until Amon approached her. He put his masked face close to hers and she could see the fire light dance in his eyes. "What does it feel like to be the last bender?"

"COME ON KORRA, YOU GOT TO SNAP OUT OF THIS." Said the voice again.

"Better yet, what does it feel like to know that this happened because you failed?" He seethed and she looked away. "KORRA, YOU'VE GOT TO WAKE UP, IT IS JUST A DREAM." Amon laughed maniacally as he held his hand up high, in position to take away the power. "This will be the day that the Avatar cycle ended and it will be remembered as a giant step towards equality."

Just as his hand went to her forehead, she bolted up right. She was no long in a room filled with chi benders and Equalists, but in her bedroom surrounded by familiar faces. Especially the very alive Mako, who held her steady, she struggled to focus. It was just a dream?

It felt so real.

She felt Tenzin's hand on her back, rubbing in soothing circles as Mako held her up trying to get her to look at him. Korra was shaking like a leaf and drenched with sweat. "It's okay, you are safe here." Mako reassured softly. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Korra threw herself into his arms. "He killed you, he took everybody's bending away except he killed you." She cried.

Mako looked at Tenzin surprised. "I'm okay, Korra and so is everybody else." He whispered.

"It was just a bad dream." Tenzin added quietly and the room fell into a somewhat awkward silence. "I will get you some water."

He left them alone and Mako held her tight. "I couldn't do anything to help you, I couldn't help anybody." She said into his chest. "I tried to break free, to bend, to do anything . . . but I failed."

He ran his hands through her sweat soaked hair before resting it on her neck, gently guiding her eyes up to his. "You did not fail, Korra." He said firmly.

She jumped up and immediately regretted it. "I did fail! I challenged Amon and I lost. . ." She argued with her back to him. Her hands tangled up in her hair as she growled to herself.

Mako watched as she began to pace. "You were outnumbered." He said softly, even though he didn't know what happened to her, the number of bruises along her arms and the rope burns on her wrists couldn't have been done by one man.

"I should have stopped him." She said yelled, startling Naga. "I am the worse Avatar ever. . ."

"No you're not." Mako said softly from his spot on her bed.

She turned and glared at him. "Yes I am. Avatar Aang would have won. . ." She said. Her cheeks were flushed and tear escaped her eyes. He got up and put a hand on her arm, she glared at him but didn't pull away. "Don't you dare try to say anything different. . ."

Mako shrugged. "Aang was a fully realized Avatar and if you read your history book, he almost never won on his first try during the hundred year war." He said simply, but she ignored him.

"I have never been in the Avatar State and have never met any of my past lives." She said, looking at the floor. "What kind of Avatar am I, if I can't access it's power. I mean come on, Aang was 13 when he became a fully realized Avatar." She stopped to let a breath in. "well technically 113, but that's not the point. I can't even master Airbending . . ."

Mako took a deep breath and tried to get her attention. "Korra." He said patiently, but she wouldn't listen. He did the only thing he could to silence her. He pressed her lips on to hers causing her eyes to open wide and then close as he poured everything he could into it. He broke away and waited patiently for her to look up at him. "You are not Avatar Aang, Korra. You are Avatar Korra, from the Southern Water Tribe. Master of three of the four elements and a pro-bending superstar, that's who you are." He was firm and she hung onto every word. "You will do it in your own way and when the time comes you will not be alone."

She gasped and threw her arms around his neck. A muffled 'thank you' rested at his collar bone and he held her close. Slowly she broke away and he smiled down at her. "Come on, let's get some sleep." She nodded as he led her back to the bed.

She crawled inside and looked up at him. "You're not leaving, right?" She asked, she was almost like her normal self if she wasn't pleading.

He shook his head and crawled into bed with her. She immediately sought his comfort by resting her head on his chest and wrapped her hand tightly around his waist. Korra looked up expectantly, as if she wanted to say something and he looked down at her waiting for her to find the words to say. "Thank you." She whispered, leaning up to give him a final kiss.

"Anytime." He responded and she drifted off to sleep.

And he was not too far behind.

Bolin balanced the rock plates on the tip his index finger, while lying on his back on the gym floor. When he grew bored of that, he tossed them at the net and watched as they shattered onto the floor. The clock next to the next confirmed his suspicions that his teammates were not going to show up for practice today.

He frowned, common courtesy would have been to tell him that they were both skipping out on them. Korra was probably doing Avatar type stuff and Mako, he hoped with was Asami and not in a ditch somewhere. Mako needed to lighten up and hopefully he got too.

Out of boredom, he bended some rocks and started to bench press them when her heard heels click along the wood floor of the gym. He turned to see the very long legged Asami walk in with her hair flowing behind her with her quick pace.

He sat up and smiled. "Well hello there." He said turning on the Bolin Fire Ferret charm, only for show of course. He wasn't about to still his brothers girl.

"Hello Bolin." She said with a sweet smile. "Is everything alright?"

The young man's face fell slightly. "Yeah everything is fine, where's Mako?" He asked. "I thought he was with you . . ."

The woman frowned. "No, he left last night saying that he had a little emergency." She said carefully as she took a seat next on the bleacher. "I assumed he was checking in on you."

"I haven't seen him since the party last night." Answered Bolin truthfully, it wasn't like his brother to lie. He thought he was serious with this girl and to leave her for an 'emergency' seemed a little bit fishy. "I'm sure he's alright, he's probably training with Korra or something."

The woman sighed and ran a hand through her perfect curls. She pulled out a newspaper from under her arm and handed it to him and he inhaled sharply when he saw the pictures from the ball. Korra stood on the cover with the words FAILURE stretched across the headline. Bolin quickly scanned the words about the Avatar's duel with the Equalist leader and it turning into a bust, the longer he read the harsh words about his friend the angrier he became.

He looked up from the paper and shared a look with the woman, whose expression was unreadable. She sighed and nodded towards the paper. "You might want to go find her, she isn't going to handle this well." Asami said softly.

"What about Mako?" He asked dumbly, he was still in shock and unable to comprehend the magnitude of the situation.

"If you find Korra, you might find him." She responded, getting up and she started to leave.

He watched as she neared the door. "Where are you going?" He asked.

She stopped and turned around, a giant smile on her face. "I have to meet my father for breakfast and I came here to see if Mako wanted to join us. It's okay, tell him I will see him later." She said in stride and with a small wave she exited the gym, leaving Bolin to come up with his own conclusion.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Miles to Go

**Author: SplishySplash**

**Genre: **Hurt/Comfort/Romance

**Pairing: **Mako/Korra

**Rating: **M

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Summary: **Korra finds the newspaper article that rubbed the failure into her face. She discovers the Avatar state.

It was late afternoon when Korra finally stirred.

Mako had woken up hours ago, but had stayed put. She needed him too and he knew it the moment she looked up at him. "Hey." He said simply, looking down on her.

"Hey." She whispered, her cheeks flushed slightly and she looked away.

He sat up and turned to look at her. "Are you okay?" He asked, he watched as she frowned and jumped up.

"I'm fine." She said as she went to her closet to change into her clothes. He watched as she stripped down to her under clothes, which didn't leave much for the imagination. Mako tried to advert his gaze, but he couldn't. Her toned muscles were screaming for him to touch and her long legs were inviting. She pulled on her Airbending clothes not knowing the effect that she was on him.

"Korra." He called out carefully as she pulled her shirt down, hiding her perfect muscles from his sight. "What are you doing?"

She pulled her hair up out of her face and turned to face him. "I'm going to go train." She answered, leaving no room for him to argue.

But sure as hell he was going to try. "You need to rest." He said firmly.

Korra shook her head and neared the door. "I am behind in my Airbending practice. I will see you later." With that she left him sitting on her bed. Slowly he got up and put his shoes on before making his way to the front door, giving the Avatar her space, it was only until he could run home and take a shower, and then he was going to deal with her face to face.

Nobody bothered him as he reached the front door, it was on the other side that his huffing and puffing brother stood ready to knock. "Mako, there you are!"

Mako frowned as he took in the flushed state of his brother. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Where's Korra?" Bolin asked, he wasn't his usual chipper self and he almost seemed panicked. "and has she seen the newspaper?"

"She's practicing her Airbending, why?" Mako asked, Bolin's anxiety was wearing into him. Bolin threw the paper at him as he struggled to breath and Mako's eyes widened as he saw the headline and read the nasty article written about the Avatar. Tarrlock was ruining her because she didn't accomplish what he wanted to do. A large crash from inside the house made the brothers look at each other before running into the house.

Korra stood at the gates as the wind blew them steadily. She took a step inside and carefully wove her way through them, but it was taking too long and she lost her concentration and patience. She was smacked by one gate and thrown into another before she ended up back in the beginning. It was like a cruel joke. She growled and got back up, trying it again and again each time coming more unsuccessful as her patience wore thinner. Tenzin carefully instructed her through each turn and soon just watched as she worked through her stress because it went on a deaf ear.

She growled loudly and on the last time, she was breathing heavily as she was thrown on the ground again and she laid there on the ground for a while. She wasn't really the Avatar, she was just lucky to know three of the four elements. "What's troubling you Korra?" He asked, standing over her.

She growled and covered her eyes. A gust of wind flowed over her and a piece of paper landed on her stomach. Korra moved her hand and picked up the piece of newspaper. Slowly she sat up and read over the harsh words, Tenzin watched curiously as her stony face turned to rage. The words FAILED littered the front page with a picture of her promising to bring down Amon. The guy who forced her onto his stupid task force, threw him to the whalesharks. She was so angry that everything was red and created a steady throb in her head.

Then something happened. She lost all control of herself as she lifted off the ground, destroying anything in the near vicinity as rocks, water, fire and air swirled around her. She had gone into the Avatar State. Loud crashing from the gates being uprooted startled made the master jump.

Mako and Bolin reached Tenzin's side and watched in horror because she had white lights coming out of her eyes. "What's happening?" Mako shouted over the loud crashing, he held his arm up to keep the debris from flying into his face.

"She's in the Avatar State. I don't know what triggered it." Tenzin shouted back.

The young Avatar looked terrifying as she threw objects around, she looked uncontrolled and angry and Mako could guess what caused this. "How do we stop it?" He shouted back.

Tenzin shook his head. "I don't know." He answered honestly. He couldn't remember his father going into the Avatar state without being in absolute control. He noted to mail his mother and ask her about it, but for now he could only watch helplessly.

Mako couldn't just stand there and watch her hurt herself. He approached her tentatively. "Korra." He shouted, he saw what was in her hand and he knew what had set her off, the newspaper. He stepped closer to her and shouted her name again, she looked right at him and it was as if she was looking inside of him with her glowing eyes.

"Be cautious, she's not in control of herself." Tenzin yelled as the man crept closer.

As if they were communicating silently, he walked up to her and grabbed her by the hand, pulling out the newspaper before grabbing her hand. The elements that surrounded her froze for a moment, suspended in the air. Without a word, he pulled her into his chest and held her tight against him.

The frozen elements dropped to the ground with a whoosh and it took a moment before she escaped the Avatar State and became her normal self. But when that happened, it had exhausted her and she nearly collapsed. She looked up at him a little dazed. "What . . . what happened?" She asked.

"You went into the Avatar state." He answered softly and she only nodded before resting her had back on to his chest. She was breathing hard and tears soaked his shirt again, he did the only thing that could comfort her and he rested his cheek against her head.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Miles to Go

Author: SplishySplash

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/ Romance

Pairing: MAKORRA, this one mentions Masami

Rating:K

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This one is a little filler chapter, yada yada character development and all that jazz.

Summary: Asami approached Mako.

It was another day before Korra was coherent again and at that point, she holed herself in meditation. She sat cross legged and eyes closed under the gazebo, completely still and completely unlike her. Mako sat with her for a while before Tenzin fended him away. "You don't think she's on some sort of Avatar thing, do you?" Mako asked, standing at the edge of the path.

Tenzin shook his head. "I don't think that she is on a spirit world journey." He answered with a frown. "I think she feels out of control, she needs time to get back on track with her training."

Mako sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do we do?" He asked.

The young man was beginning to become a permanent fixture around the Air Temple, but he was growing restless. "Go home and get some rest." Tenzin suggested, clasping him on the shoulder. "She'll be up in no time, her restlessness will have her probending with you guys in no time."

It was reassuring, but Mako was sure that she wasn't going to be normal anytime soon. So with a deflated sigh, he turned on his heels. He froze and looked back at the older Airbender. "You'll call if something changes?" He asked.

Tenzin nodded and watched the young man leave. Turning his gaze back to the young woman, he sighed before taking post next to her and closing his eyes to meditate.

Mako walked home with his hands in his pocket. He hadn't been home in a couple of days and he was in desperate need to change his clothes. His brother had stopped by occasionally to check in on him, but he seemed to have forgotten something.

And that something was sitting on his couch. Asami Sato.

She stood up looking concerned when he closed the door. "Are you okay? You look like you've been run over by a Komodo-rhino." She asked.

He gave a half smile, he wasn't really in the mood for her. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said, falling on to his couch with a thud.

She sat down a little more gracefully, curling into his side. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while." She said smoothly. He could detect something in her voice, but he couldn't place it.

"I'm sorry, there was a bit of an emergency. . ." He started and she interrupted.

"Not with Bolin, though?" She asked.

Mako shook his head. The ever level headed Asami Sato was looking for a fight that he wasn't ready to face. "Korra has been having a rough couple of days." He said, it was a pretty ambiguous statement for what really had happened. He respected Korra's privacy enough to leave it at that.

She frowned, putting her lip out just a little and they fell into a silence. She opened her mouth a couple of times trying to find the words to say and Mako knew she wanted to ask in an upscale and classy way to fish out just what had happened during his disappearance. "Just say what you are going to say." He finally said.

"Well, don't you think that it was a little . . . "She started and he was starting to get angry. ". . . a little premature for her to challenge Amon and stupid of her to actually face him?"

Anger flashed through the reserved fire bender. "She wouldn't have challenged him if she wasn't tricked on to that stupid taskforce." He said, pushing her away and standing up.

Asami looked offended. "Well if she wasn't so sure of herself and her skills, she would not have been tricked into joining the taskforce. She's not even a fully realized Avatar and hasn't mastered Airbending." Argued Asami indignantly, looking up at him.

"Why are you really here, Asami?" Mako asked.

She huffed. "You left me after the party saying that you had an emergency to deal with and then I find out that you have spent the last three days with her, what do you want me to think?" She said angrily, jumping up to her feet.

"That I am a good enough man to stay true to the woman I am dating while I am supporting my friend who needed me." He answered with a growl.

Her soft features turned hard. "Maybe I needed you too! She's the avatar! She's got all of the support in the world. . . " Asami yelled angrily.

He shook his head and ran his hands through his disheveled hair. "She doesn't have any support for her wellbeing. If I had been paying attention . . ." He yelled, until Asami stopped him.

"You blame yourself for her . . . foolishness?" She yelled back.

Mako took a step towards her, fire in his ember eyes. "I should have been there to protect her!" He roared. "I should have stopped her from challenging Amon and I should have stopped her from being on that stupid taskforce that got her into that mess."

"Why should YOU be the one to do it? YOU should be with me, your GIRLFRIEND and let one of her many supporters look out for HER wellbeing." She was yelling in his face, her normally composed features were gone and replaced with frown wrinkles and flushed cheeks.

"Because I love her, okay?" He shouted and suddenly the room fell silent, one could hear a pin drop and it would be deafening. Before anything could be said Asami stormed out of the room, throwing the door open and bumping into Bolin.

"Hey Asami . . ." Bolin greeted, but frowned when she ignored him and ran down the stairs. He turned back to see his brother sit on the couch, hard. "What's with her?"

Mako groaned and covered his face with his hands. Had he really said that? Out loud and to the girl he was dating? He shook his head and got up, leaving his brother alone in the apartment as he walked out of the arena and onto the quiet streets.

Korra sat there, ignoring the requests from Tenzin and Pema to eat and she even ignored the children's attempt at distraction. She sat with her eyes closed, feeling her muscles ache under her straight posture. She was going to sit there until she got answers from somebody, anybody at this rate. She had done her research and heard stories from Master Katara about Aang's visit to the spirit world and how the past Avatars had helped him during the one hundred year war and building of Republic City.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

The meditation was really starting to clear up her mind. Tarrlock did trick her into doing this and she did face Amon and she did go into the Avatar State. When she thought about it, maybe the whole thing was a plot to get her into the Avatar State. There was so many scenarios to get to that thought and yet, why was Tarrlock in a hurry to take down the Equalists?

Her mind was racing and she had to force herself to breathe easy.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Her mind cleared and a slight smile came to her unusually stoic face. Mako. He had spent the last three days at her side, chasing away the bad dreams and wiping away her tears. She appreciated his gesture and suddenly felt bad that she had ignored him today. She needed Aang, Roku, Kyoshi and the predecessors before them to tell her what she needed to do.

She felt a presence next to her. The footsteps were not as light as all of the Airbenders and not as loud as all of the White Lotus guards, it was as if she could sense him. Mako took the seat next to her and his scent was overwhelmingly distracting.

Mako didn't say anything, only sat there and his presence seemed tense.

For the first time all day, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He gave a weak version of his half smile, giving her the go ahead to finish meditation and that he could wait. She turned her head forward and closed her eyes again.

This time sending her into the spirit world.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Miles to Go

Author: SplishySplash

Genre: Romance/Hurt Comfort

Pairing: MAKORRA

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Summary: Korra goes into the Spirit world, she meets her past life.

It was as easy as closing her eyes.

Suddenly she was looking at her meditating self and a concerned on the border of panic looking Mako who got up to probably go find Tenzin, and that wasn't even the weird part. Korra was sitting next to Avatar Aang, who even though was a blue hue and see through looked just like the statues and exactly what she had imagined him to be. He didn't look like a guy who had saved the world countless times, he looked normal well with Airbender tattoos. They were still sitting under the same gazebo, it did seem a little bit darker.

"Hello Korra." He said lightly with a bright smile.

"H. . .hi." She said, suddenly the headstrong and confidence was gone, nervousness had set in. Not everybody got to experience the spirit world, let alone a past life. She had heard about these meetings from Katara, how Avatar Roku would teach him about the past and how it had helped him during the war.

His smile softened. "I've been waiting a long time for you to join me in the spirit world." He said and then frowned, realizing just how creepy that had sounded. "What I mean is as the Avatar and not . . . dead."

Korra's face fell slightly, this was not how she imagined meeting her past life. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, unsure just what to say. She had heard that he was very charismatic from various people who had known him, but he seemed like a normal guy. "I'm sorry, I've been waiting for this moment so long and I've messed it up." He apologized. The young Avatar released a stunned laugh and rested her hands on her hips. "What?"

"I'm sorry, but you are nothing like the stuffy guy like Tenzin is." Was all that all she could say, his son was always so uptight and not fun, Avatar Aang seemed to be a lot more interesting.

Aang shrugged. "I don't know where that boy got so serious, but he's been training his whole life to train you, Korra." He answered, running a hand on his chin. Korra felt bad, Tenzin had sacrificed so much for her.

Korra looked down at her hands. "I know I haven't been the most obedient student for him. . ." She started, remembering why she had spent all day meditating and all of the problems that had surrounded her.

He chuckled. "You surely have kept him on his toes."

"I am just not getting the Airbending thing down." She said slowly, turning to look at Mako who had turned to talk to Tenzin. They must have realized that she was in the spirit world. "I am just not spiritual enough for it."

Aang shrugged. "We all have elements that we struggled with, I struggled with Earth bending. With you being a water bender, fire bending should have been the difficult one. But you Korra are an Avatar of your own." He complimented.

Korra look away again, "I don't know what I'm doing, you past Avatars have yet to write the book on how to be one." She said modestly, wiping a tear away.

The former Avatar laughed a little bit. "I had the same problem when I was starting out, but I want you to know that you are never alone." He said seriously

With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. "I don't think I'm the right person for the job." She answered honestly. Why would they give it to her? She was brash, uncooperative and tended to throw things when she didn't get her way. What made her special?

He placed a blue hand on her shoulder. "The Avatar cycle is never wrong, Korra . . ."

"I have failed, I challenged the Equalist and I lost." She said down casted. "People don't think I can do this and that I will never be as great as you ever were. I can't be you, I'm trying and it's not working. . ."

Aang sighed, he knew the feeling. "You don't have to be me, Korra." He responded. "My advice to you is to just be yourself."

With her eyes on her hands, she spoke in just above a whisper. "I don't know who that is."

"You are Avatar Korra of the Southern Water Tribe." He said, pulling her chin up to get her to look at him. "You will do great things and sometimes they don't work out on the first try, I know patience isn't your strongest suit but it will take some time."

A single tear fell down her cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb. "Is it always this hard? I feel like I failed the world."

"Being the Avatar is a great responsibility." He said. "But it will get better, once you finished your training and with the help of your friends, you will do great things Korra." She glanced at the man who sat vigil next to her and the master who sat on the other side in meditation.

She smiled up at him, she believed him and in a surge of emotions, she wrapped her arms around him. He held her tightly against him until she pulled back. "You left me some pretty big shoes to fill."

Aang laughed loudly. "You want some big feet? You should meet Kyoshi, next to her I have normal sized feet." He joked, he turned to see the young man watch her carefully, protecting her from any dangers by the look of the protective hand on her back. "You might want to get back before they get more worried."

"Wait! How do I . . ." She asked as everything grew fuzzy around her spirit.

"I will always be there for you, Korra." He said in echoes as it suddenly got dark all around her. "Don't forget that."

Mako was good at sitting still and welcomed the silence, especially after his fight with Asami. He needed to see Korra, even in her own crazy way her presence seemed to calm his stormy mind. He couldn't bring his burdens on to her, not with the burden of being the Avatar.

He had wandered the city for a while before ending up next to her and the words about her were not nice. Tarrlock had smeared her reputation and he found himself getting super defensive. When had these feeling started?

Tenzin had told him that she had spent all day in meditation, who had joined his vigil when Mako had went to get him after she had started glowing. Her eyes glowed as well as an airbender's arrow down her arms and on her feet. The master looked at her perplexed, saying that his father did the same thing on his journeys, but he actually had the arrows.

So there he waited with a hand on her lower back, so that where ever and whatever her spiritual journey took her. It was a long time when she let out a small cry and fell back into his arms. "Korra?"

Her eyes opened and made contact with his. "That was weird." She said hazily as she sat up, all traces of the glow gone.

"Are you okay?" He asked, keeping his hands on her to keep her from falling.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, she smiled brightly and she seemed normal. "I'm okay." She said before throwing her arms around his neck and after her talk with Aang, she felt refreshed and ready to take on her responsibilities. Tenzin walked away quietly, allowing the two to have this moment.


End file.
